Page:Oregon Exchanges.pdf/102

March, 1918

You have gotten your hint of the possible story from the ﬁrst part of the interview. But it is only a hint. Your newspaper training will tell you what details you will have to have added before it becomes a readable and complete story. Ask questions cleverly calculated to give you this "feature" complete in all details. Do not forget to ask the all-important question "Why!" at every point. Make sure that you have exactly the "Who?" (including both names and identifications) "What?", "Where?", and When?" But use your "How?" and "Why?" questions most freely, because they will bring out the most interesting sides of the story. This part of the interview ends when you feel that you have the story complete with all the details and dramatic incidents necessary to you as a writer, in order to make the most of it in the telling.

The third and last part of the interview is a process of veriﬁcation and of going over the ground again to make sure that nothing has been over looked. This (part of the interview is somewhat tedious to your subject, but you will usually be able to hold him to it by the argument: "So long as it is going to be printed you surely want to see that I do not get anything wrong." In this part of the interview use your notes openly, repeating your understanding of the story to your subject, asking "Is that correct!" and entering corrections and additions in your notes. Go over with special care every date and number and the spelling of all proper names. Run over in your mind all possibilities of further information from your subject in other ﬁelds besides the one which has just proved so productive. The last question of all should be the veriﬁcation of the subject 's name and its spelling.

General Warning: It is usually ruinous to take up these different phases of the interview in any other order than that given above. To begin with the tedious and vexatious manner of the third part would put your subject out of humor and very likely spoil your story. To put off the activities listed as "preparation" until after the interview loses you the chance of asking your subject about the interesting things you may learn about him.

To begin with part two before you have given your subject the free range advised in part one will often give you the little story you started out to get instead of the very important different story the subject may mention when he is freely talking. The ﬁrst part of the interview is generally awkward and diﬂicult if you have not preceded it with the work labeled "preparation".

Remember: There are three different attitudes you assume in the three different parts of the interview. You have three different purposes in mind and three different plans of action.

Remember, Remember, REMEMBER: Look your subject in the eye all the time, appear interested, BE INTERESTED, and call him frequently BY HIS NAME. 9